Improvement in grain-drills



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I0IINVH'- TMS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOH TO IIIMSELF ANI) `PHINEAS I MAST., OF ,SAME PLAOF.

Letters Patent No. 112,299, dated February 28, 1871.

lIMPROVEMEHN'IV' lN GRAINI-DRILLS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and malnng part of the same.

To` all whom il. may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. THOMAS, of. Springfield, in thecounty ot" Olarkand State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in Grain-Drills, of' which the following lis aspecitication, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing.

y My invention relates to that class of grain-drills or `seeding-machinesin which wheels or rollers are used in seed-cups attached to 'the under side of the hopper for `feeding out the grain; and

'Ihe invention consists in an iinlnovement in the construction of' the feed-wheels and their cups, as

hereinafter explained. l

l Figure 1 is aV longitudinal vertical section ot' the seed-cup and wheel;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a enp and wheel' complete;

`Eigure 3 is -a rear. end view of' a enp and wheel y turned `on its' side;

j Figures, 6, and 7 are views of' the feed-wheels detached, and shown inlsection;` j

Figures 8, 9, and l0` are sectional views ofthe case; and; jf Figure l1 is a perspeetiveview of one-half' ot' the cup or case, showingthefform of its interior.

` withtheir periphery'eonvex, their greatest diameter being `through their center vertically, they being gradually rounded off fromthe` center toward their' hub or journal on 'each side. My present wheelI make the reverse of this, it being concave 'on its periphery, or, in other words, `it is made in the form of a pulley or sheave, .as represented in fig. 5, which shows one of thewheels' out vertically through its center, that `is, through the middle of the groove in its periphery. When thus made,'it.will be perceived that each halt' of the wheel has on its outer lend a hub or journal, mi, between which and thegroove is a radial flange, a; :andthroughhe center of the wheel lengthwise there `is madea square or rectangulaihole, O, for securing it on thel shaft in the usual manner.H

The inner faces of the flanges a' I provide with a series of uniform ribs, c, as shownin figs. 5, 6, and 7. t Indi". 5 th'eseribs, with their intervening grooves, are represented as extendugliorn the extremity of then-angelo dow'n along its inner face, and also across' the bottomV of `the main groove or convex portionof the wheel B, thus 4forrnihga continuous series of ribs` extending at right angles entirely across the concaveA portion ot' the wheel between the langes a and ont to the extremity of said flanges, the object ot' these ribs being to feed the grain ont through the (ip eningy G in the rear endsofthe cups A.

For sowing theV different kinds ot` grain different forms of` ribs are required, or, at least, are found to work to advantage; and, as these machines are intended to sow all kinds of small grains, I vary the style of the concavity, and of the ribs therein,rto` snit the di'li'erent kinds ot' grain. As represented in lio, 4, the concarity or groove in the wheel may he made rectangular in cross-section, the inner faces ofthe anges c being straight or vertical from their extremity down` to the body of` the wheel, as there represented ;Y and I propose, also, in some cases, to make the ribs e on the face of the fianges only, thus leaving thecentral portion of' the wheel, from one ange to the other, smooth or free from ribs.

For sowing som'e kinds of grain, such as corn, beans., and" peas, for which purpose these machines .are also intended, the ribs c should be made coarser or larger; and I also propose to make them as represented in lig. 7, where they are represented, at c as` extending from the center or body outward about onehall of the width ,of the ange a; and at e?, where they are shown as being arranged around the outer portion of the flange, and extending from their outer edge inward about one-half' of the width of the flange.

I also make these wheels with ribs, f, on the 'periphery of the flanges a, as represented in lig. 6.

lhc cup or case in which the-se feed-wl`1eels B are used is nia/de in the general form outwardly, shown in the former pateuts,and as here shown in figs. 1, 2, and 3, it being cast in .'two parts, united on a vertical line passing through :the center' longitudinally, and beingsecured togetherby small screws passing through corresponding projections, t, as represented.

The cavity within these cups or cases. is volute'in its general form, from front to rear, as. represented in figs. 1, 9, 10, and 11. Atits front and upper side this cavity is made of' a nearly circular form, as shown in fig. 2; Aand from thence gradually decreases in size, its sidesor walls converging until its width is j ust sufficient. to iuclose the wheel Bwith 'its'langes (aas, shown in figs. 2 and 9, the latter representing but lia-lt' a cup and wheel, with the bottom cut away o n the line y y of fig. 10.

vThe cups are made ,with a ho'le, I, in each side, to

form a bearing for the journals m ot' the wheels; and

around these holes, on theinner faces of the sides of' the cup, there is made a flat or smooth surface, o, which` extends outward even with the-periphery ot' the tlanges a when the wheel is inserted.- The holes I. are located ucar -therear end of the cup A, so that= the wheel B, when inserted,is insert-ed-ecentrically in the cavity within the cup, as shown in figs. l and 9.

From the front edge of the wheel B, on each inner face or side of the cup, there is formed a ledge or horizontal projection, l, as shown in il". Il, this ledge springing from the side of the cup and increasing in width as it proceeds around underneath the wheel, until, having reached a point just in rear of a line drawn vertically through the center of the wheel, it extends laterally to the center, .where it meets the corresponding ledge on the opposite side, from whence they extend around up behind the wheel to the opening G, this ledge l being concentric with the wheel, and close against its periphery, asshown in tiff. S). This wide portion of the ledge Z is also continued above the opening G, to near the rear edge of the mouth o1' cavity' of the cup, as shown in iigs.2,8,

and 10.

It will thus be seen that the cavity within the cup,

.through which the grain passes from ythe hopper, is

quite large at its top, but gradually vcontra-cts, growing both narrower and shallower, until, at a point directly under the -center' of the wheel, or near that point, it terminates, the wall of the shell there coining in contact with the periphery ofthe wheel, from which point the cavity for the passage of the grain is confined t-o the groove in the wheel7 between the flanges a.

By this construction of the cup or case A and the wheel B the grain is gathered gradually, and without danger of being crushed, into the groove between thc flanges e 0f the wheel, and, by thc ribs c thereon, is fed with the utmost regularity out through the opening G in the rear end of the cup.

In the upper rear portion of the cup A, in front of the opening G, I form a mortise or recess, inclining downward and forward, in which is inserted a gate or tongue, l), the lower end of which fits between the flanges a ofthe feed-wheel, with its lower end just clearing the bottom of the groove in the wheel, asA shown in o'. 1, the object of this gate being to prevent the grain from passing ont through the groove on top of the wheel.

In this case the cnp is shown with its ,bottoni' falling below the periphery of the wheel B, in fig. 1,thus

leaving, as it were, a sort of pocket or recess directly lcup approach'the periphery of the wheel on a tangential curve', and so avoid having any abrupt shoulder or wall, against which the grain might possibly' he jammed or crushed.

By this method of constructing the feed-wheel and its cup or case, I produce an apparatus that performs its function of feeding out the grain in the most perfect manner. As the grain is gathered by the gradual and very gentle inclination or convergence of the walls of the cup within the groove of the wheel, all crushing, grinding, clogging, and bunching ot' the grain are prevented, and, by the ribs on the wheel, it is fed o-ut in a continuous and even stream.

It is obvious that this feeding de viee may be used either for sowing grain broadcast or in drills, its function and inode of operation being the same in either case.

Having thus described my invention,

\Vhat I claim is- ]v. In combination with a cup, A, having its interior' of a volute forni, substantially as described, the feed-wheels B, having a groove around its periphery, substantially as set forth.

2. A feed-wheel, B, consisting of a cylindrical body, having journals, Im, at each end, with radial flanges, a, having ribs, c, arranged radially von their inner faces, substantially as described.

3. lhe seed-cup A, having its opposite sides provided with holes, I, to form bearings for the journals of the feed-wheel or the shaft, and having the gradually-increasing and laterally-projecting ledgel formed thereon, concentric with holes I, substantially as herein set forth.

\ JOHN Il. THOMAS. Witnesses GEO. ARTHUR, PETER MINXICJI. 

